Nike Lunar Control 4 Golf Shoe Review

When Rory McIlroy signed with Nike in 2013, one of the first product lines he got involved with was the Lunar Control shoe and the 4th generation is the one that features his biggest footprint.

Given his high swing speed of up to 120mph, stability combined with flexibility would allow his feet to help control this power as he gives the ball the message.

The Lunar Control 4 is more of an evolution from version 3 and the Lunarlon sole and base is the same.

It features a firmer outer sole with softer foam on the inner sole under the removable insole to combine that stability with comfort.

The back of the heel now features a thick heel counter that has a rib-like effect to provide support as well as various colour accents from bright crimson, wolf grey and something called white.

These fade to the base colour of shoe as you go forward on the sole and past the carbon fibre shank in the mid sole that also helps with the stability.

The sole is pretty flat with seven Nike Champ Zarma Tour spikes on top of plenty of contouring to provide extra grip. I was concerned that these might feel a little like walking on stilts, but nothing could be further from the truth.

The soft inner layer of the Lunarlon sole and the different types of spikes all worked together and even on hard surfaces like concrete it seemed to move together and grip the surface beautifully and was very comfortable indeed.

The microfibre synthetic upper has been redesigned to be lighter and is claimed to be waterproof, which I have not been able to vouch for yet, but as Golfalot is based in the Scotland it won't be long before I can do that and update this review.

It's the same material Nike use in their football boots and as a result the large swoosh on the forefoot has come over too, which is going to divide opinion.

Nike say that they have gone with this style from the Nike Mercurial football boot as their shoes are not age based, but designed for the 'modern golf athlete'. If only one of these three words applies to you then this could be one swoosh too many per shoe.

However all I can say is that after wearing them for several rounds the modern golf athlete in me was oblivious to it, even if my 'bufty golf salad dodging' playing partners reminded me that they were not.

The fit of the shoe is fairly traditional with maybe a slightly wider forefoot than the usual Nike design. The wider part of the sole is there to help the stability and it does the job and blends in well with the overall look.

One clever new feature is the split tongue that wraps around the ankle to provide a better fit and stops it falling one way or the other during the round.

The tongue is light and maybe a little on the thin side as the laces can dig in a little if you are wearing thin socks so take your favourite golfing pair along when you go to try them on to check if that is an issue, as it may depend on the shape of your foot.

The laces run through Nike's Dynamic Flywire system that acts like cables wrapping around the upper to secure your foot which it does very well.

Everything Rory wanted Nike to achieve with the Lunar Control 4 shoe I think they have delivered. The comfort is excellent and the stability as you walk and move through the swing gives you the feeling of your golf shoes and feet working as one.

It is priced at the premium end of the market, but if you represent two or more words from 'modern golf athlete' then the Lunar Control 4 is certainly worth the investment.